Iran Statement at the UNTOC Working Group on Technical Assistance
Tools of the Organized Crime Convention to Provide Global Responses to Organized Fraud and Challenges
Statement
By The Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Before The 17th Session of Working Group of Government Experts
on Technical Assistance(13-14 July 2026)
Agenda Item 2: Tools of the Organized Crime Convention to Provide Global Responses to Organized Fraud and Challenges
به نام خداوند بخشنده مهربان
Mr. Chair,
I would like to start by sincerely congratulating you on your election as Chair of this Working Group. We are confident that under your leadership, our discussions will be constructive.
Mr. Chair,
Organized fraud is growing faster than ever and becoming one of the most complex forms of transnational organized crime. It is undermining economic stability, eroding public trust, and affecting societies in every region. This clearly shows that we need a coordinated global response rooted in the Convention.
In Iran, we have put in place a comprehensive legal framework to criminalize fraud, whether traditional or modern. Under our domestic law, fraudulent acts can lead to up to seven years of imprisonment, restitution of property, and fines. This reflects our firm commitment to treating fraud, including cyber-enabled fraud, as a serious crime, in line with the Convention.
Mr. Chair,
International cooperation is key to tackling organized fraud. We strongly believe in the importance of mutual legal assistance and capacity-building. We are also worried about the misuse of new technologies, especially artificial intelligence, which criminal groups are increasingly using to expand their fraudulent operations.
My delegation also wants to highlight the important responsibility of digital service providers, particularly global social media platforms. They must fully cooperate with national authorities in preventing and combating organized fraud. Given how much these platforms are being misused by criminal networks, service providers need to put effective safeguards in place, respond quickly to official requests, and be held accountable if they fail to stop their platforms from being used for large-scale fraud.
Furthermore, my delegation stresses that unilateral coercive measures seriously harm international cooperation, limit access to financial systems and essential technologies, and make it harder to prevent, detect, investigate, and prosecute organized fraud. Such measures go against the spirit of the Convention and weaken our collective efforts to fight transnational organized crime. States should avoid adopting or implementing such measures so that international cooperation and technical assistance can be effective and inclusive.
Mr. Chair,
We would like to put forward the following recommendations under this agenda items of the Working Group:
- Encourage Member States to provide effective, needs-based technical assistance without discrimination or political conditions, including meaningful transfers of technology and equipment, to strengthen national capacities and support law enforcement in preventing, detecting, and responding to organized fraud.
- Encourage Member States to refrain from adopting, maintaining, or implementing unilateral coercive measures that hinder international cooperation, block technical assistance, or otherwise undermine the ability of States to fight organized fraud.
- Encourage Member States to require digital service providers to fully comply with national laws and cooperate effectively with authorities in countering organized fraud, and to hold accountable those that fail to take adequate steps to prevent their platforms from being misused for large-scale fraud.
- Request the Secretariat to prepare a comprehensive analytical report on the challenges and obstacles in countering organized fraud, including operational and technological gaps, as well as external barriers affecting international cooperation.
I thank you.